USA Returns Stolen Treasures to India

WASHINGTON (CN) — The United States on Monday returned more than 200 stolen artifacts looted from cultural sites in India, worth more than $100 million, some of them dating back 2,000 years. “Among the pieces returned is a statue of Saint Manikkavichavakar, a Hindu mystic and poet from the Chola period (circa 850 AD to 1250 AD) stolen from the Sivan Temple in Chennai, India, which is valued at $1.5 million,” the U.S. Attorney General’s Office said in a statement. Most of the pieces were seized in an investigation that began in 2007. The owner of a shipment of seven mislabeled crates sent to the United States, Subhash Kapoor, owner of Art of the Past Gallery in New York. He is awaiting trial in India, where pre-trial detention can last for 30 years or more. The U.S. Attorney’s Office said the value of all the artifacts being returned is more than $100 million.